A devastating fire broke out at the medicine building of Barisal Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital (SBMCH) on Sunday, burning down huge surgical cotton, gauze and other materials. There is, however, no report of casualties.
Witnesses said that the fire was first noticed around 9:15 am when smoke was coming from an electric wire behind the medicine building and soon spread to the medicine warehouse of the 1000-bed public hospital.
The fire might have originated from an electric short circuit, hospital sources said adding that a large quantity of surgical cotton and gauze has been burnt to ashes, triggering panic among the patients, employees and visitors.
Bystanders first tried to put out the blaze by using sand, sources said. As they could not bring the fire under control, the fire service was immediately informed of the incident.
On information, nine fire fighting units rushed in and brought the blaze under control after one and half hours of frantic efforts. Local volunteers and hospital staff also joined them and safely evacuated patients.
Fire service sources said that there were more than 500 patients inside the medicine building of the hospital when the fire broke out, and a number of them were moved to safe places.
“There was panic as smoke and flames filled the medicine building. People were rushing in to rescue the patients,” Sajeeb, an eyewitness, said.
“We first saw smoke rising from a electric wire and immediately tried to put out the fire with sand, but it was spreading fast,” he added.
Due to quick response from the fire service, no patients or staff were harmed. The police said that four patients, who had been in the rooms close to the place of fire have been safely evacuated.
Mizanur Rahman, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Barisal Kotwali Police Station, told media, “No one was injured or died in the fire. Members of the fire fighting units and hospital staff acted swiftly to ensure everyone’s safety.”
Following the fire, many raised the question about the hospital’s fire safety measures.
Several fire extinguishers were found to be non-functional, according to media report, which spark outrage among hospital employees too. Many expressed concern over lack of hospital’s fire safety measures as this is not the first time that a fire broke out at SBMCH.
Hospital staff and relatives of patients worked alongside fire service personnel to rescue patients from smoke-filled wards. “As soon as the fire started, everyone began running to safety. Many of us helped move the patients to safer places,” relaive of a patient said.
Barisal Fire Service Deputy Director Md. Mizanur Rahman said that the fire was brought under control after 90 minutes of coordinated efforts by nine fire fighting units.
“There was heavy smoke, but we managed to douse the blaze. The fire might have originated short circuit. There is no casualties from the blaze. All the patients have been safely evacuated. We are investigating to find out the cause of the fire. he added.
